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LeBron James' Voting Rights Group Will Donate $100,000 To Pay Ex-Felons' Debts In Florida So They Can Vote

The day after LeBron James delivered an eloquent plea for progress, he continued to fight for social justice.

Melissa Rohlin

The day after LeBron James delivered an eloquent plea for progress, he continued to fight for social justice. 

The voting rights coalition that James helped found, More Than A Vote, said Friday that it will donate $100,000 to the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, which aims to pay ex-felons' debts so they can be eligible to vote, according to Politico. 

In 2018, the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition successfully fought for a constitutional amendment that ended Florida's lifelong voting ban against people with past felony convictions, which restored the right to vote for about 1.4 million people. But Republican-backed legislation has made it very tough for the vast majority of those individuals to vote, requiring them to pay all court fines, fees and restitution before registering. 

James and other Black athletes and entertainers who founded More Than A Vote, which aims to fight Black voter suppression, are also raising money for the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition by posting the documentary "Good Trouble" about John Lewis' life on their website. It costs $12 to watch it. 

"A must watch to understand what this man was fighting for 60 years!!!" James tweeted Friday. "The right to vote should not come with a price tag!"

James, the face of the NBA, spoke for nearly 14 minutes Thursday evening after the Lakers' scrimmage against Dallas about the need for change in America. 

He made a passionate plea for the Louisville police officers who shot Breonna Taylor to be arrested. He discussed being Black in America, saying, "You’re just racially profiled from the time you come out of the womb." He said Black Lives Matter shouldn't be called a "movement," adding, "There ain’t been no damn movement for us." And he said systemic racism is pervasive: "Unless you’re a person of color, you guys don’t understand," he said. "I understand that you might feel for it. But you could never truly understand what it is to be Black in America."

Anthony Davis immediately knew the impact his words would have.

"When he speaks the whole world listens," Davis said.

Lakers coach Frank Vogel added that James had been guiding the team behind-the-scenes over Zoom conference calls since George Floyd was murdered by a white police officer in Minneapolis on May 25.

"He was very vocal in just leading our group right there with the right perspective to have, and understanding our viewpoint that action is needed," Vogel said. "It’s not just enough to speak on it, it’s not enough to be sized up, it’s not enough to be silent. And LeBron, like everything with us, he’s been a leader in this regard."

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Melissa Rohlin
MELISSA ROHLIN

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